Every mac ever has been overpriced, especially lately. Way back when, you could actually somewhat justify the price since they built their own hardware in house. Now, they're exactly the same thing as a Windows computer with a shiny aluminum case, their own proprietary OS, and a $500 markup.

And of the three that are on the list, they didn't mention the iPad Mini? It has the RAM, processor, and screen resolution of something two generations old, but manages to cost 1.65x the amount of a better Android tablet.

Where are Word Processors? They were huge in the mid- late-80s. "Hey, I know--let's make a computer than only does word processing, using proprietary computer disks & proprietary ribbon cartridges for the printer! And we'll charge only a couple hundred dollars less than an actual computer!"

You buy the PlayBook if you want a bigger computer that gets along with yourto pay entirely too much for a mediocre 7" tablet with no app ecosystem to speak of and no e-mail support unless you own a BlackBerry smartphone.

brigid_fitch:Where are Word Processors? They were huge in the mid- late-80s. "Hey, I know--let's make a computer than only does word processing, using proprietary computer disks & proprietary ribbon cartridges for the printer! And we'll charge only a couple hundred dollars less than an actual computer!"

Some of them I'm surprised by. I thought people figured tablets weren't overpriced. I felt like the only one somtimes that just shakes my head at someone charging almost a thousand dollars for a not-computer with limited functionality.

Also, I now know that Microsoft is not serious about the tablet market. Charging $119 for their cover thing when it only costs $16 to manufacture? Moronic.

brigid_fitch:Where are Word Processors? They were huge in the mid- late-80s. "Hey, I know--let's make a computer than only does word processing, using proprietary computer disks & proprietary ribbon cartridges for the printer! And we'll charge only a couple hundred dollars less than an actual computer!"

/Yes, ribbon cartridges. Like a typewriter

Hey now, I had one of these from Brother that got me through high school in 1989-93:

I think it cost about $200-300 at the time, but for my parents it was a hell of a lot cheaper than getting me a PC to use for my papers and college applications:

Maybe it was better if you lived near a Fry's, but I don't remember seeing any PCs in my neck of the woods that were even vaguely affordable back then, especially once you added on a printer that was good enough quality to replace a typewriter.

Plus, you could always get the nylon ribbon that lasted longer than the cartridges. You couldn't do any corrections, granted, but you don't need to if you type out your whole paper in advance on the 5 line LCD display. Which was a pain in retrospect, but it sure as hell beat banging it out on a manual typewriter. Sure, they weren't prefect, but in the late 80s/early 90s, a lot of families couldn't afford to spend the cost of a decent used car for a computer that would be hopelessly outdated in three years.

You buy the PlayBook if you want a bigger computer that gets along with your to pay entirely too much for a mediocre 7" tablet with no app ecosystem to speak of and no e-mail support unless you own a BlackBerry smartphone.

FTFY.

wut? email is built in, no tethering required. app selection sucks, os takes way to long to spool up, but it has silverlight support. for $150 you get email etc, a good browser and the ability to view nfl season pass when on the road.

realmolo:Elzar: List is useless without the Neo Geo... $250 per game - oh yeah!

The Neo Geo wasn't overpriced, really. It was expensive because it was VERY advanced technology. For 1990, anyway.

And the games were $250 each because they had ENORMOUS amounts of storage. Again, for the time.

Remember, the Neo Geo gave you 100% arcade quality.

The 3DO, on the other hand....yeah. They blew it with that thing.

Well, the 3DO was also very advanced technology for the time. Plus they couldn't do the whole "sell the console close to cost, make profit on games and licensing" bit because the whole idea was that it was an open standard.

Mad_Radhu:Hey now, I had one of these from Brother that got me through high school in 1989-93:

I actually learned how to type on that model sometime around 1990, iirc. I dont remember it being able to keep multiple lines in mememory... I could have swarn it would only hold one line, so you would type up to the end of a line, you made sure there were no glaring errors and then proceeded to the dump at the end of the line and the typewriter would just bang away.

Apple TV is $99, and it's actually not a bad deal.I've never rented a movie through the thing, but it's nice for streaming Netflix, plus some other free content.

It's pretty good if you are invested in the entire Mac ecosystem, and have devices where you can take advantage of Airplay and Airplay mirroring. For anyone else looking for a set top box for streaming media, you are probably better off with either a cheaper Roku or going full out and buying an Xbox 360 or PS3, which can not only handle media streaming but can also handle gaming and even Blu-Rays in the case of then PS3. For me personally, I prefer to spend a little more for something like the PS3, which can handle just about all of my media in one box with gaming as a bonus cherry on top.

I have a great "The one that got away" story about the OQO. I found a tech website that had mispriced the OQO for $189.90, a simple matter of a typo in a spreadsheet somewhere. But I guess they had a flood of orders that weekend and a human intercepted all the orders and erased them from the system.

I have a great "The one that got away" story about the OQO. I found a tech website that had mispriced the OQO for $189.90, a simple matter of a typo in a spreadsheet somewhere. But I guess they had a flood of orders that weekend and a human intercepted all the orders and erased them from the system.

Antimatter:What, no Neo-geo or 3DO? Both were interesting systems killed by insane prices on the console and games. I'd say the ps3 ranks up there, at launch anyways, but those two are still king.

The 3DO was an abortion.

The Neo-Geo Arcade Entertainment System (Multi-Video System is the arcade cabinet) was genuinely successful. The hardware was a direct clone, even down to the serial numbers. It wasn't a "console" by even the stretchiest of words. It was an arcade machine that you could jack into RCA outlets.

It also invented the Memory Card. Every MVS up to 1994 has two slots where you can slide your AES save games into the system itself, plug in a quarter and play where you left off. Nascent save-state speedrunning. Say that three times fast...

The main selling factor to it was that it didn't run cartridges, per se, it ran FULL ARCADE BOARDS. Justification for the $109.99 (Ninja Combat, Magician Lord, Baseball Stars: Professional, 'Nam 1975) to a WHOPPING $799.95 (Fatal Fury 1, Thunder Force, Last Resort) price tags on the games was because it used onboard RAM to power them, not system-side. Considering it launched in 1989 (only as a mail-order system from SNK-USA) and eventually went wide in 1991, it may seem that it was meant and built for an exclusive group.

It was.

The main point SNK used in selling the AES was to get arcade operators to show off future games to interested customers AHEAD of when they'd be available, thereby driving up revenue. Even though the games were the exact same, it was SNK's choice to sell a set number of "shells" before production of the arcade boards to see what opinion would be of them... it really didn't matter, though, 95% of all Japanese games were ported to America.

Another thing that the AES had going for it was that the RAREST games (something like the "Top 25") available in North America are all AES/MVS titles. Last Blade 2 will set you back anywhere from $1,500 bare board to $10,000 for a Mint-In-Box. Collectors will sell their first-born children for a copy.

Although it isn't said much, there are a good number of titles designed exclusively for the system, and not meant as arcade titles; Samurai Shodown RPG can be had for a relatively cheap $300 in box, Garou: Mark of The Wolves (Fatal Fury 4) was ported from the console to the arcade - the only game in SNK's catalog that holds that distinction. Rumors abound of there being a Magician Lord 2 game finished and floating among the ether that was designed as AES-exclusive in 1998.

All told, it ran from 1989 to 2005, and the final game released for it is SNK Vs. Capcom: SVC CHAOS which sold over 5,000 units for a home system that hadn't been made in almost a decade.

It did, however, cost a steep $599.99. Still a bargain next to the memory-maxed-out Metal Slug 4 - it retailed for a jaw-dropping $1,999.99 in 2000.

These things taken into consideration, however, the AES holds a very vaunted position:

Apple TV is $99, and it's actually not a bad deal.I've never rented a movie through the thing, but it's nice for streaming Netflix, plus some other free content.

It's pretty good if you are invested in the entire Mac ecosystem, and have devices where you can take advantage of Airplay and Airplay mirroring. For anyone else looking for a set top box for streaming media, you are probably better off with either a cheaper Roku or going full out and buying an Xbox 360 or PS3, which can not only handle media streaming but can also handle gaming and even Blu-Rays in the case of then PS3. For me personally, I prefer to spend a little more for something like the PS3, which can handle just about all of my media in one box with gaming as a bonus cherry on top.

The Roku can play games. There is the horible looking bejeweled clone and the almost unplayable soduku game and angry birds if you are willing to shell out something line $50 for a motion remote.

Saiga410:Mad_Radhu: Hey now, I had one of these from Brother that got me through high school in 1989-93:

I actually learned how to type on that model sometime around 1990, iirc. I dont remember it being able to keep multiple lines in mememory... I could have swarn it would only hold one line, so you would type up to the end of a line, you made sure there were no glaring errors and then proceeded to the dump at the end of the line and the typewriter would just bang away.

There were basic models that only did a few lines at a time, but mine was the deluxe model that had a floppy drive for storing entire documents. I'd write up my papers, then hit the print button and let it autotype out the papers, feeding it new pages of paper when necessary.

I have a great "The one that got away" story about the OQO. I found a tech website that had mispriced the OQO for $189.90, a simple matter of a typo in a spreadsheet somewhere. But I guess they had a flood of orders that weekend and a human intercepted all the orders and erased them from the system.

Apple TV is $99, and it's actually not a bad deal.I've never rented a movie through the thing, but it's nice for streaming Netflix, plus some other free content.

It's pretty good if you are invested in the entire Mac ecosystem, and have devices where you can take advantage of Airplay and Airplay mirroring. For anyone else looking for a set top box for streaming media, you are probably better off with either a cheaper Roku or going full out and buying an Xbox 360 or PS3, which can not only handle media streaming but can also handle gaming and even Blu-Rays in the case of then PS3. For me personally, I prefer to spend a little more for something like the PS3, which can handle just about all of my media in one box with gaming as a bonus cherry on top.

The Roku can play games. There is the horible looking bejeweled clone and the almost unplayable soduku game and angry birds if you are willing to shell out something line $50 for a motion remote.

Apple TV is $99, and it's actually not a bad deal.I've never rented a movie through the thing, but it's nice for streaming Netflix, plus some other free content.

It's pretty good if you are invested in the entire Mac ecosystem, and have devices where you can take advantage of Airplay and Airplay mirroring. For anyone else looking for a set top box for streaming media, you are probably better off with either a cheaper Roku or going full out and buying an Xbox 360 or PS3, which can not only handle media streaming but can also handle gaming and even Blu-Rays in the case of then PS3. For me personally, I prefer to spend a little more for something like the PS3, which can handle just about all of my media in one box with gaming as a bonus cherry on top.

I think anyone with a bit of technical know how is better off with a Pi box than a XBOX/PS3. Can play any 1080p file you throw at it for under $70 and you can add a few TB of HD space and keep it under $150.